Jerry Seinfeld Covers Wired &Talks Digital Etiquette

Given his background in the entertainment business and his massive net worth, Jerry Seinfeld has a unique perch above our rapidly-developing, tech-crazy society.

The “Bee Movie” star is featured on the cover of Wired magazine’s July 2014 issue and in his interview he shares some tips for “how not to be a jerk in the digital age.”

Seinfeld suggests ditching Google Glass for the time being- “Between the in-group tiered rollout and the $1,500 price point, Glass is an in-your-face marker of social class – a symbol of self importance that suggest the wearer has too much money and too little fashion sense — and that’s caused a backlash.”

“It’s banned from restaurants, a woman was assaulted for wearing Glass inside a San Francisco dive bar, and a group called Stop the Cyborgs is campaigning for Glass-free zones. So for now, wear Glass only when the technology it will eventually supplant is heavily prevalent. Dive bar? No. Tech conference with 75 percent of the people on a laptop or cellphone? Yes.”

Additionally, Jerry encourages drunken Tinder activity- “Tinder and intoxication are meant for each other. That’s because they tap into the same kind of behavior. ‘When intoxicated, you’re making decisions based on a fragment of understanding,’ says social psychologist Claude Steele. A mere four photos and a tagline forces people to make decisions based on a cursory grasp of the situation. A sober person might balk at those limitations. Let those worrywarts obsess over their OkCupid profiles!”

And when it comes to posting pictures of your children, simmer down! “It’s tempting to saturate your social media feeds with your child’s awesomeness. But what begins as a desire to share your tyke’s first steps can quickly devolve into a hunt for Likes, faves, and comments.”

“At this point you have become a stage mom, with all the attendant’s issues. ‘The child may begin to feel responsible for their parent’s happiness, and that’s quite a burden to carry,’ says Leslie Anderson, a University of Manitoba researcher who has studied child actors. So yes, share some cute pictures. But don’t set your kid on the same path as the cast of Diff’rent Strokes.”

Finally, it’s perfectly acceptable to view R-rated movies on flights- “Coach class isn’t a Puritan church service, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed about watching a video with a little bump-and-grind. Your real concern is noise. ‘The biggest complaint we get about electronic devices, by far, is that they’re too loud,’ says Shawn Kathleen, a veteran flight attendant. We’re pretty good a keeping our eyes to ourselves, but not so much our ears. So while the occasional flash of buttocks is fine, make sure that nothing audible disturbs your neighbors.”